


The Language of Violence

by Person



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Gen, stabbings, the troll disease called friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-12-24
Updated: 2010-12-24
Packaged: 2017-10-14 00:53:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/143528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Person/pseuds/Person
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jack used his knife like it was a form of communication, and over time Karkat started to understand it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Language of Violence

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Farla](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Farla/gifts).



The second time that Jack stabbed him, he insisted that it was Karkat's own fault. Karkat was willing to accept that, even if he _had_ just been following Jack's own plans.

It had been Jack's idea for them to kill any Dersians they came across instead of just sticking to the imps. The rest of the trolls could just play through the usual, imp-killing way (though that didn't necessarily mean that they _were_ ; Karkat wouldn't be surprised if he found out that Vriska, at least, was slaughtering her way through every living thing that she came across regardless of what it was), but _they_ weren't traveling with Jack himself. If word got back to Derse that he was fighting alongside a player then their plans would be ruined.

It wouldn't matter that the Black Queen had no way of knowing that one of Jack's spies had learned what she'd done with the ring and it wasn't just a betrayal based on Jack hating her _so_ much that he'd rather change sides to player team without any type of plan than keep following her orders for a minute longer. She'd be a thousand times more wary and suspicious of him than she was of the rest of Karkat's team put together; it was just a kismesis thing, and they had one of the strongest black romances that Karkat had ever seen. She might even be worried enough for it to outweigh her hatred of Aradia's stupid (okay, maybe he shouldn't think of it that way when it _was_ the thing that had given them their chance for an easy win, but, fuck, it _was_ stupid) frog-head prototyping and put her ring back on, which really would destroy everything. Karkat still wasn't sure how they were going to beat even one monarch with the powers of Feferi's fucking Great Glubbing lusus prototyped to him, though Aradia claimed to have a plan that she was too fucking crazy to fill the rest of them in on instead of just being vague and mysterious about it. If they had to fight two monarchs Karkat figured that it would be time to just put their heads between their knees and kiss their asses good-bye.

So when he was the Derse agent coming around a rock, well, how was _he_ supposed to know that it wasn't time to attack first and ask questions later? That's what they'd been doing practically the whole game through, great splashes of mutant-red blood dotting the landscape of every world that they'd passed through. The first warning Karkat had that something was different this time was when the blade of one of Jack's knife was suddenly slammed through his wrist, the pain of it forcing him to drop his weapon.

By long-held and well ground-in instinct the first thing that Karkat did was quickly look around to see if there was anyone there who could see the hideous color of his blood, even though he knew that was stupid. He hadn't seen anyone he knew besides Jack, who already knew, in a few days, and it wasn't like Equius was going to suddenly pop out from behind a rock and start ranting about how he wouldn't follow a leader whose blood was so low it was off the charts or Terezi fall out of the sky and start trying to lick his wounds. But he'd been doing it for his entire life, and it was a big enough change just to be keeping his head while the blood welled up. It was too soon for him to make any others.

It wasn't until he was sure that they were alone that the anger started to fill him. "What the fuck was that for, you fucking psychopath?" he asked, finally yanking the blade out of his wrist and tossing it at Jack's feet.

Jack didn't seem the care at all about Karkat's rage being focused on him, aside from his eyes narrowing even more than usual. What he'd done obviously wasn't a big deal in his eyes, just a warning, sharp and to the point. He just nodded towards the Dersian that Karkat had been seconds away from slicing into and said, "This is the Draconian Dignitary. He's with us."

* * *

The third time was an accident. Terezi didn't believe him when he told her that Jack hadn't meant it one or two of the time he'd stabbed him, but Karkat knew for a fact that at least that one hadn't been on purpose.

They'd stopped for a break. Jack got sleep while Karkat kept watch, the same as it went every time they stopped for rest. Karkat didn't give a damn how often the others told him he should wake up and join the rest of them in flying around and seeing the future and whatever else it was they got up to as their dreamselves. The few times he dozed off for even a second all he got was the same old troll dreams that they were _supposed_ to have instead of all the nonsense the game gave them, and without any sopor slime he didn't planning on dealing with them. If he ever really needed rest he could make the trip back to his bedroom and get some normal sleep.

Sometimes he was a surprised that Jack was willing to go asleep around him when he knew Karkat would be staying awake. He sure as hell wasn't the trusting type, who could just fall asleep in front of anyone without worrying about what they might do. Karkat had finally decided that it was probably just because Jack didn't consider him a threat even when he was at his most vulnerable, which was pretty fucking insulting, but, hell, it wasn't like Karkat had ever proved him wrong. It wasn't like he ever would prove him wrong, at least as long as things kept going on the way they had been and Jack didn't give him any reason to turn against him.

The imp that came across them while they were resting was absolutely massive, one of the biggest Karkat had seen since they game began. It had obviously been created after Feferi came in.

In the past Karkat had always taken care of any enemies that found them while Jack was sleeping alone, allowing him to keep regaining his energy to make up for the fact that Karkat himself could, but this time he knew he shouldn't. He wasn't about to become one of those red splashes on the ground himself just because he'd been stupid enough to try taking on an enemy that huge on his own. Maybe if he had psychic powers like Sollux's or muscles like Equius' he would have tried it, but the only special powers he had were his awesome leadership abilities and those wouldn't be much help against an enemy big enough to squash him flat without even noticing he was there until it felt something squish under a toe.

So he shook Jack awake. Or he tried. Because the minute he was leaning over Jack it suddenly became obvious why he'd never worried about Karkat attacking him in his sleep. The knife was in Karkat's side before Jack was even really awake.

So, really, that couldn't have been anything _but_ an accident.

* * *

The last time... the last time that it was _his_ Jack anyway, and not the demon attacking his dreamself, it happened while he was being sent into exile.

In theory he shouldn't have been able to do anything. Vriska was controlling him after all, and she was even better at fucking with the heads of the citizens in the game then she was with her fellow trolls.

Maybe her power was just stretched thin enough to allow a momentary slip since she had to control Karkat as well. He didn't care what Terezi said, he didn't care who agreed with her, he _wasn't_ going to step back and let them march Jack onto the shuttle that would carry him to the dead ruins of their old world. He was the god-damned _leader_ , and a good leader didn't just toss aside a soldier who'd been fighting at his side for weeks when he hadn't suffered a wound or illness that made culling necessary.

Or maybe Vriska had felt what Jack wanted to do and just let him. He wouldn't put it past the crazy bitch, though she'd deny that she'd done any such thing. The denial would have been easier to believe if she could keep a straight face whenever the subject came up, though her laughter was just as likely caused by how she'd finally gotten a glimpse of his blood through Jack's eyes.

Whatever the case, for just an instant the forced sluggish walk of the controlled fell away and Jack whirled around, driving a knife all the way to its hilt into Karkat's chest.

An inch to the left or right and that one instant of lost control would have killed Karkat. An inch to the left or right and they never would have learned the Demon's face because it would have been Karkat's dreamself hidden away in the labs, far away from Prospit when it was attacked. And he was sure that Jack _knew_ that, that even if he'd only had a second in his right mind that second would have been more than enough time for him to correctly judge a killing blow.

Terezi tried to make him believe that it was a sign that she'd been right about Jack. That he would have betrayed them just as quickly and easily as he'd betrayed his queen.

Karkat took the wound, deep and long-healing and leaving a scar that would never fade but not fatal, as a goodbye.


End file.
